Naval operatives of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Ibaka, in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State have arrested three suspected traffickers with large consignments of assorted contraband drugs and industrial chemicals.
At the handing over of the suspects at the Base, the Commanding Officer (CO), Capt. Uche Aneke, recalled that “the gunboats, while on routine patrol around the Bendero and Uta Uyata general area, intercepted a wooden boat during a stop-and-search operation.”
He explained that the seized boat ferrying the illicit items was on transmission from the neighbouring Cameroon to Akwa Ibom when it was intercepted within the coastal waters of Nigeria.
He disclosed that “the boat was laden with over 125 sacks of industrial chemicals (crystalline ammonia) and 62 cartons of different brands of contraband drugs.”
He listed the drugs to include 820 tubes of Pethidine (containing opium) and 24,800 bottles of codeine syrup.
The three arrested suspects, along with the contraband drugs and industrial chemicals, he said were handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Akwa Ibom State Command, represented by Mr. Monday Jatau, the Deputy Commander in – charge Narcotics.
Also, the industrial chemicals, he stated, were handed over to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Akwa Ibom State Command, represented by Mr. Abdulkadir Abubakar, Deputy Superintendent of the NCS, for further investigation and possible prosecution.
According to him, the handing over was conducted in line with what he described as “the harmonized standard operating procedure on arrest, detention, and prosecution of vessels and persons in Nigeria’s maritime environment,” assuring that the boat and products were handled in accordance with extant Defence Headquarters (DHQ) directives.
He, therefore, warned oil thieves, smugglers and other maritime criminals to desist from perpetrating unwholesome practices within the territorial waters of the Eastern Naval Command or be ready to face the full weight of the law when apprehended.
“Let me seize this opportunity to warn individuals or groups planning to engage in any form of criminality in Nigerian waters or smuggling illegal consignments into or out of Nigeria to desist immediately.
“Under the current leadership of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, FOB Ibaka, remains resolute in ensuring that maritime crimes are effectively eradicated in the maritime and coastal areas of Akwa Ibom State.
“Criminal elements within FOB Ibaka’s area of operations, under the Eastern Naval Command’s Area of Responsibility, will continue to be detected using advanced surveillance equipment and intelligence.
“Such criminals will be apprehended and duly prosecuted because Nigeria’s waters and coastal areas are not havens for illegal activities,” he warned.
